Dan reports in as the Lhotse team moves up. Dan reports they saw the bodies of
the 2 Korean climbers that died. They said a prayer for them. They plan to
attempt the summit of Lhotse on the 20th or 21st. All is well with the Lhotse
team. The Everest team is still in base camp...

Earlier: Hello, we are in everest basecamp with our international team of climbers and
sherpas. The weather is especially beautiful today. We are climbing Mount
Everest, the world's highest mountain, and Lhotse, the world's 4th highest
mountain. Wish us luck and please watch our progress on

We are very sad that one of our everest members is leaving. we are really
going to miss mark luscher. he is a super great guy and a very strong climber.
unfortunately the top of his stomach would not close so the contents kept coming
out, no matter what all of the various doctors in the khumbu tried to do. all of
us are going to miss mark a lot and we wish him and his family the best of luck.
namaste! Dan

Earlier: the attached photo shows
summitclimb.com ama dablam expedition members Hugh McGilveray and Harry Thomas
standing in front of their nemesis, 6812 metre high Mount Ama Dablam. i took
it today at 2:00 pm in pangboche village.

our everest and lhotse team
members are down here resting in this pleasant 4000 metre yak and potato
farming village with a lovely river and birch-rhododendron forest. taking a
low altitude rest in the "forest zone" was a russian acclimatization technique
first introduced by my dearly departed friend anatoli boukreev who i first
climbed everest with in 1991. for more about that awful expedition, please
search on "of friends and romans" on
www.everestnews.com

while lhotse team member
bruce manning and i were sitting outside enjoying the first rain-free day we
have had in some time, hugh and harry appeared mysteriously out of the cloud.

we regret to inform that hugh
and harry's summitclimb ama dablam expedition ended in total failure with gobs
of snow, cloud, and the very sad daily phenomenon of the ropes being snowed
over, then frozen into the ice. each morning, the team was treated to the
horrid site of the ropes frozen into inch thick blue ice, and they were unable
to chop the ropes out for neither love nor money. all 4 teams that tried
withdrew from ama dablam's normal route (the southwest ridge) this spring, and
no one has summitted the route this spring.

in well-deserved abject
disgust, Hugh and Harry went off and climbed a few other local peaks,
including Island and Pokalde, and reached both summits in total fog and cloud.
on their post ama dablam failure trek, they crossed the famed Kongma-La pass,
saw a few lovely lakes, and visited the tiny sherpa village of Lobuche.

i guess climbing is like that
sometimes, leading you down twists and turns in the road, into dead ends and
one-way lanes, and out the other side in disheveled order.

hugh and harry told funny and
charming stories about their expedition to ama dablam, with a team that worked
well and laughed and climbed safely together, led by veteran summitclimb
leader Jay Reilly.

the pair stomped off into the
sunshine headed for kathmandu at 2:30pm today. overall, they seemed fairly
happy about the way things turned out on ama dablam. i suppose bittersweet
would be more apropos.

in any case, because all of
us at summitclimb.com feel badly about the weather being so awful, we would
like to extend them a 50 percent discount on their next expedition to ama
dablam, the grandmother mountain of the khumbu valley.

for now, we wish them all
luck in their next goal: the annapurna circuit in a weeks time with their
father.

nota bene: in the photo,
maybe you can see a bit of ama dablam's summit, but quite a bit of it is
obscured by cloud. as you go off to uni this autumn, hugh and harry, i hope
you will be able to appreciate both the clouds and a bit of the true summit
shining through.

Dan Mazur who has reached the
summit of 7 of the world's highest mountains, including Everest and K2, and
has led and/or organized expeditions to more than 60 Himalayan, African, and
South American peaks will return to Everest again in 2007. Below is some
information on this Everest / Lhotse expeditions.

EVEREST - NEPAL The original
first-ascent route. Places are still available in our 2007 expedition. Full
Service price reduced to: $26,450. Expedition leader Dan Mazur. Leading
Everest climbs since 1991. 29 March to 6 June, 2007 and 2008.

The most coveted peak in the
world from the easiest route, with the highest chance of success.

From left to right: Everest,
Nuptse, and Lhotse. A picture postcard view.

We provide generous discounts for
groups of two or more.

When you see the high level of
service we provide, as well as low budget options, you may agree that the cost
is affordable, inexpensive, even cheap.

29
March to 6 June, 68 days in Nepal in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Daniel Mazur on the summit
of Everest, after climbing it from the Nepal side. Don't forget to take off
YOUR oxygen mask for the photo, when YOU reach the summit. Makalu and
Kangchenjunga in the Backround. (Photo:
Roman Giutashvili)

One of our nine excellent
cooks, brewing up another fine meal. (DL Mazur).

Ryan Waters on the summit, wearing
one of our oxygen sets. Team member and Sherpa oxygen supplies cached in the
storage tent in ABC. All of our oxygen is hand checked and the bottles, masks,
hoses, and regulators are carefully matched. We guarantee 100 percent of our
oxygen to work perfectly. Any oxygen bottles and equipment unused will be
repurchased for 70 percent of what you payed. On the far right of the photo,
you can see our hot water hand washing water reservoir and soap, where
everyone washes their hands before each meal, in order to maintain good
hygiene (Ryan Waters).

Descending the fixed lines
from the summit. Most accidents occur on descent. Its a time for the utmost
concentration and good hydration and nutrition. This is when you find out how
fit you really are (Ryan Waters).

Introduction: Climb Everest (8,848 Metres)

Everest is perhaps the most coveted mountain in the world. The south
(Nepalese) side is the route first climbed by Tenzing and Hillary in
1953, and the dates we have chosen feature the best weather of the year.
Our proposed schedule allows for two potential summit attempts.

This expedition to Everest
maximizes many years of accumulated wisdom of the high Himalaya, a
strong record of reaching Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, and many other
8,000 metre summits, along with an intimate knowledge of the Nepalese
officials who regulate the permit system. We must also give credit to
the highly experienced and hard-working climbing Sherpas, cooking and
office staff.

Detailed Description

The trip begins in the
ancient and colorful city of Kathmandu, and the staff will personally
meet your flight at Tribhuvan airport. You stay in a comfortable,
simple, clean hotel, and sample some of the tasty Nepalese, Tibetan and
Western-Style cuisine, at minimal expense. During our free day in
Kathmandu, we shall finalize arrangements, and take some time out for
trinket hunting, with planned visits to explore the 17th
century splendors of the Monkey Temple, the Durbar Square and old Kings
Palace, as well as the ancient city of Patan.

Early the following
morning we fly to Lukla at 2860 metres., where we meet our yak drivers,
and porters. If there is time, we will trek to Monjo (2652m), and spend
the night. For
our full-service members, the cost of this expedition includes one of
the most beautiful treks in the world. For more information and photos,
please visit our Everest trek site:
Everest Trek.

We will continue our trek
up to Namche Bazaar (3446m), the capital of the Sherpa Kingdom. Here we
rest for a day to acclimate, then proceed up to Deboche (3757m) for a
night, then to Lobuche (4930m), where we have another acclimatization
day. Finally, we make the last trek to basecamp at 5300 metres. After
resting, organising, and training in basecamp for a day, we will begin
our climb. We start with a day hike through the awe inspiring Khumbu
Icefall, followed by a trip to the plateau of the Western Cwm, for our
first glimpse of Camp 1, at 5800 metres. We return to basecamp for a
tasty dinner, prepared by our skilled cooks.

Anatoly Bukreev and Vladimir Balyberdin at basecamp.(DL Mazur). On the South Col of
Everest (Gennady Kopieka)

Diane in the icefall (Dan Mazur). Tent lashed to
its platform in camp 3 at 7200 metres (Dan Mazur)Climber in the
Lhotse Face (Scott Darsney). Chris Shaw on the face at 8100 metres
during an early summit attempt (Dan Mazur)

Climbing
at 8400 metres above the Kangshung Face (DL Mazur).

Through the following
weeks, we will climb up and down the mountain, exploring the route,
establishing camps, and carefully and safely building our
acclimatization level. From camp 1 at 6000 metres,
the route traverses the flattish bottom of the Western Cwm, to 6200
metres where camp 2 is located. Camp three is on the head wall of the
Lhotse face at about 7200 metres. The south Col, is the highest camp,
and at 8000 metres it is a windy and cold place. We take our time, climbing up and
down to acclimate, which gives us the best chance to ascend in safety
and maximize our opportunity to reach the summit during the "weather
windows" which generally open in May. The route to the summit
winds through snow ice and rock fields, at a 10 to 50 degree angle.
These slopes are not considered technical, but there is exposed rock
here in the spring, and lines are often fixed. Fixed rope is often
placed on the small vertical pitch of the 6 metre high Hillary step, and
the summit lies directly above. Truly the most classic route on the
world's most classic mountain.
Welcome to our team!

Looking up
at the summit from the south col. Climbing at 8400 metres above the
Kangshung Face. Approaching the Hillary Step. Climbing on the Hillary
Step (DL Mazur).

The view
from the summit, looking west to Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Pumori, and many
others (DL Mazur).

Extra day in Kathmandu, in
case of delay, and for sightseeing, gift shopping. Hotel.

68.

Fly Home. Thanks for joining
our expedition!

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